worship

  • Finding Christ

    cross-and-water1

    “Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood.  He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.”
                                                               Exodus 15:25 NIV

    Have you ever been going through a trying time and wondered where God was?  Well, I have and so have the Israelites. This scripture comes in the middle of the story when the Israelites had just gone through the Red Sea.  They had just broken free of bondage in Victory…only to wander for 3 days without water!   They finally find water and run to drink it, but the water is bitter and undrinkable.  That was enough suffering to make the people forget the miracle of the water parting and want to go back to their old life.  They grumble and complain to Moses.  Moses does the right thing and cries out to the Lord.  Oh, if we always took the time to cry out to the Lord like Moses did—and—wait for Him to speak!  Oh, how different our lives would be!
    God showed Moses a piece of wood.  Moses throws it into the water and it creates a chemical reaction to change the whole body of water.  Seriously?  A piece of wood?  This doesn’t make sense, if you don’t see the cross symbolism.  A piece of wood couldn’t change water in the natural.  God supernaturally used a piece of wood to be a type or foreshadowing of the cross.  Only Jesus can take the bitter sufferings that we face and bring something sweet out of them.  We need God to open our spiritual eyes so we can see how Christ is there, just like the wood was, mighty to save.
    Moses took the time to cry out to God and ask Him to be involved in his problem.  He expected God to show up, and show up He did, providing water in the desert.  Take time today to bring your needs before God.  Open up your spiritual eyes to see Christ in your bitter circumstances and allow Him to give you water!

    open your eyes

    Prayer:
    Father…You see the bitterness of life on this earth and you stand along the sidelines waiting for me to tag you in.  Please open my eyes today to see you working on my behalf!  May I never doubt that you are there, because you are!  You are Mighty to Save!  Thank-you!  In Jesus name, Amen

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  • Destined To Worship

    “When they saw the star, they were overjoyed…and they bowed down and worshipped him.”             Matthew 2:10-11

    Have you ever been listening to the radio and a song just grabs you?  This Christmas I was asked to make a short video introducing a trio in our church singing Kari Jobe’s song “Adore Him”.  In the song, she writes about the story of the Magi who followed the star to find Jesus.  Using the words and tune for the Christmas Carol  “O Come All Ye Faithful” for the chorus, she compels us to join her in worship as she repeats the phrase “Come Let Us Adore Him” with such passion.

    Music profoundly impacts my life.  I am brought to tears more by songs than anything else.  If only I could sing!  Listening to Kari’s song led me to spend a great deal of time thinking and reading about these men who travelled so far searching for a King.  Men who would have given up so much to make this journey, putting their lives at risk by not going back to King Herod after he sent them to find this King of the Jews.  Herod falsely claimed that his motives were to worship the King, but the Magi, they were pursuing their destiny to worship the King.

    Today my iTunes started playing Avalon’s song “Destined” and I was again moved by music.   This song helped me to realize that Romans 14:11 is true and that we all have the same destiny as the Magi.  We’re all Destined To Worship!  So, be like the Magi and seek after Jesus the bright Morning Star!  When you find Him, humble yourself and lavish Him with your praise!

    Prayer:

    Father…I praise you for who you are because, You are good!  Almighty…Always There, and You Know Everything!  I want my life to be an act of worship to you in the words I say and the meditations of my heart.  Help me fulfill my destiny to worship you!  In Jesus name, Amen

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  • Every Time I Think of You…

    “Come face-to-face with God, and give thanks; with loud and joyful voices, praise Him in songs.”
    Psalm 95:2 (The Voice)

    every time i think of ypouDuring this week of thanksgiving our attention is rightly given to God and all the blessings He brings into our lives.  God does so much for us!  With the pace of life we live, we often don’t slow down enough to appreciate all that He has done, so the holiday of Thanksgiving is a great time to slow us down and turn our focus to our great God!

    When Nehemiah was rebuilding the city of Jerusalem he reminded the people of how “long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there had been directors for the musicians and for the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.” (Nehemiah12:46-47,NIV)  He reinstituted the positions of Worship Leaders because he recognized the power of putting our focus on God and thanking Him for all He has done.  Nehemiah and all the people knew that only God could have rebuilt Jerusalem.  We need to open our eyes and see where God is at work rebuilding our lives!

    Time to Think and Give Thanks

    Psalm 95:2 (The Voice)Many of our churches today are blessed with Worship Directors and teams of gifted leaders who by using their words, worship and talents help us to direct our focus on God and how amazing He is.  Everyone knows someone who by their very life encourages others to see how good God is.  Take the time this week to live out 1 Corinthians 1:4-6 and let your Worship Leaders or others know how their lives direct you to focus on God and thank Him for His goodness and their influence in your life.

    “Every time I think of you…I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives.”

    1 Corinthians 1:4-6 (The Message)

    Prayer

    Father…it is with a grateful heart that I come to you today.  You are such a good and wonderful God.  I thank-you for placing people in my life who, by their very lifestyle, direct me to put my focus on you and all your benefits!  Help me to live my life in a way that inspires others to thank-you! In Jesus name, Amen.

    Soul H2O bookIf you liked the refreshing in this #SoulH2O devotion, you’ll love my latest Soul H2O Devotional book: 40 Thirst Quenching Devotions for Women.

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  • Testing

    “The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first…”
    Job 42:12

    I was going through the Devotional in my book called “TESTING…FOLLOWED BY BLESSING”.  God has set a precedence in his Word that when you have gone through a time of testing successfully it will be followed by a time of blessing.  It’s not just a catchy line I came up with—it’s a principle in scripture!  Whether it takes place here or in heaven—Testing is followed by Blessing!

    There are so many biblical examples of this: Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Esther…the list could go on.  The biggest example of this is in the life of Job.  In Chapter 1 of Job we read the record of God and the devil’s discussion over how good Job is.  God saw Job as faithful.  The devil, literally translated as “the accuser”, thought that Job was only faithful to God because God blessed him so much financially and in his family.  The devil asked if he could test Job in these areas and God agreed.  First the devil killed all of Job’s servants, next all his children and then all his livestock; which was equivalent to financial ruin in that day. After all these losses Job still kept his faith in God.
    The devil went to God again and asked if he could further test Job and God agreed.  The devil gave Job boils all over his body.  Still he remained faithful to God in all of his testing.  It wasn’t like he enjoyed it or was happy throughout it all.  Job is very human in his response, but he never turns his back on God.  Job cursed the day he was born, but still did not curse God. Even when he lost everything and couldn’t see any blessing, he still believed God was good.  What an incredible testimony! 
    At the end of Job we read how God blessed him with MORE than he had in the first part of his life.  He ended up with twice of all that he owned before, a VERY wealthy man.  God blessed Job again with 7 more sons and 3 more daughters, giving him a long life to see even his great-great-grandchildren live!  Testing is followed by…

    word bles sing!

    Prayer:
    Father, I thank-you that you see me as good even when the accuser says differently.  I thank-you that your plans for me are good and that you won’t let me be tempted beyond what I can bear. Help me to stand strong so that I can pass the tests of my life and walk in Your blessing!  In Jesus name,  Amen.
     (WATER IN THE DESERT; Section 3-WATER IN THE WANDERING: TESTING…FOLLOWED BY BLESSING, pgs.112-114). 

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  • Power & Glory of God Conference

    I was asked to speak at The Power & Glory of God Conference last minute when another author couldn’t make it.  The conference is a part of the Ministry of The Watchmen run by Rev. Barbara Williams out of Warren, Michigan.  It was one of those God ordained moments!  Since the event was held during Braeside Family Camp my cousin Rachelle Fletcher a Christian Recording Artist,  was down visiting from Texas.  She has written a worship song to go along with my book and when I got the call about this event I knew I needed her to come with me.  They were open to having Rachelle sing “You Are Water In My Desert” after I spoke.  The Lord used the song in such a powerful way and there was a sweet sense of His presence as worship sprang forth.  It was an amazing time!

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  • Power & Glory of God Conference

    I was asked to speak at The Power & Glory of God Conference last minute when another author couldn’t make it.  The conference is a part of the Ministry of The Watchmen run by Rev. Barbara Williams out of Warren, Michigan.  It was one of those God ordained moments!  Since the event was held during Braeside Family Camp my cousin Rachelle Fletcher a Christian Recording Artist,  was down visiting from Texas.  She has written a worship song to go along with my book and when I got the call about this event I knew I needed her to come with me.  They were open to having Rachelle sing “You Are Water In My Desert” after I spoke.  The Lord used the song in such a powerful way and there was a sweet sense of His presence as worship sprang forth.  It was an amazing time!

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